In Japan, there are so many interesting and unique traditions for the New Year! However, in the United States, we don’t have so many special ways to celebrate the holiday. Most people have parties on December 31st, and almost everybody watches the same event on TV at midnight, the Times Square Ball countdown from New York City. We simply call this the ball drop in the US.
This tradition was started in 1907 by the former owner of the New York Times, Adolph Ochs, and it has happened every year since then, except for 1942 and 1943. Also, in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ball drop was closed to the public, and it was only shown on TV. Usually, over 1 million people attend the event, and they wait in line for 8-10 hours to see the ball drop. A funny but strange fact is that people can not leave the line to go to the bathroom, so many men, women, and children wear diapers to survive this long wait! Therefore, if you go to New York City to celebrate New Year’s and watch the ball drop, please remember that you will have to be very patient! The next time you come to BRIDGE, let’s talk about some fun holiday traditions together!
I know that many people might have some extra free time in December and January, so if you would like to study English, please read our suggestions below for fun ways to practice outside of school.
1. Go to a movie and watch it in English
One extremely fun way to improve your listening skills and build vocabulary is to watch films in English. There are many great, new releases in December and January, so it is a perfect time to go to the movies. When you go to a theater, please remember to choose something which has spoken English dialogue and Japanese subtitles. If you watch a dubbed version of the film, Japanese actors and actresses record Japanese translations on top of the original dialogue, and unfortunately, this will not help you with English.
2. Keep an English diary
Writing in a diary is so effective in helping you express yourself in English and gain confidence. You could either use a pen and notebook, or you could create a digital diary on a program like Microsoft Word or on an application like Google Documents. One advantage about using the computer is that you can check spelling and grammar easily. Also, don’t worry if you don’t know what to write about. Simply practice describing your day. What time did you wake up? Did you get a seat on the train? Was work difficult? Try to include your feelings and emotions from that day, too, and there is no reason to be embarrassed because only you will read your personal diary!
3. Record short voice memos in English
It is sometimes difficult to find opportunities to speak English outside of the classroom. Therefore, it is important to be creative, and one interesting way to practice speaking is to record voice memos on your smartphone. Many people are a little uncomfortable doing this at first, but it can help your pronunciation and overall English production. I recommend choosing a topic like my favorite movie or the perfect vacation and talking about it for 1-2 minutes. Feel free to prepare by writing a few sentences before you record your voice, but it is also okay to not prepare at all. After you finish your recording, you can listen to it to check what sounded good and what needs improvement. If you do this exercise 3-5 times a week, you will start to feel much more comfortable and confident in your speaking ability.
4. Try English calligraphy
Many people who are trying to learn Japanese start doing Japanese calligraphy, 書道, in order to improve their kanji writing skills. Although the written language and traditions are different, how about trying to do English calligraphy? It can be relaxing and fun, and you can use the same paper and pen that you might use for 書道. There are many great calligraphy tutorials on YouTube that you can watch, but it is not necessary to follow anything! You can simply try writing your name, your favorite English words, or English proverbs like A journey of 1,000 miles begins with 1 step. You can try cursive writing (see the picture below) or the ordinary non-cursive writing that we typically use, but try to make your English calligraphy as beautiful as possible!
5. Play Scrabble
The final suggestion is an extremely fun game that allows you to build vocabulary and improve your spelling skill: Scrabble! It is so exciting to play this board game with 2-3 other people, but there are online games and applications available that allow you to play against the computer. I know playing against the computer sounds impossible, but don’t worry because there are beginner, intermediate, and advanced settings that you can select. The basic idea of the game is to create words from the random seven letters that you are given, and except for the first word of the game, you must use one letter of a previous word on the board to connect to your word. You can earn more points by making words with rarely-used letters like Q and X and by placing your word on specific areas of the board. This game is a true test of your vocabulary skills, and it is a fantastic way to learn new words from other people.
Eating fried chicken from Kentucky Fried Chicken is a Christmas tradition in Japan. Yet, in other countries like the US and the UK, we think it is a little strange to eat fast food for the holiday. It is traditional to prepare a Christmas dinner at home, and anything from roast beef to ham to duck is typically served. However, most people never eat fried chicken for Christmas. So… why exactly do Japanese people eat KFC on Christmas? Today, we will explore the possible origins of how this tradition began.
The first Kentucky Fried Chicken opened in Japan in 1970 in, surprisingly, Nagoya!
Shortly after that, some reports say the manager of this first KFC, Takeshi Okawara, decided to falsely advertise fried chicken as an American tradition to increase sales and bring in more customers to the new restaurant. However, KFC Japan officially denies that this happened. The company’s story is that Okawara went to a Christmas party dressed as Santa Claus, and everybody loved it, especially the kids. He then saw a business opportunity, and in 1974, he created the campaign, Kentucky for Christmas.
Another possible explanation for this tradition is that the idea came from foreign customers who wanted to celebrate Christmas in Japan. In 2017, a KFC expert in Japan claimed that a foreign customer requested that the store deliver fried chicken in a Santa Claus costume on Christmas Day, and this request inspired Okawara to start the Christmas campaign. Another story says that a group of Americans were trying to buy turkey in Japan to serve for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it was almost impossible to find one! Okawara then heard about this problem and thought that fried chicken could be a good substitute for turkey.
Maybe we will never know the real beginnings of the tradition, but after the company started its Kentucky for Christmas campaign, which featured commercials of families eating KFC chicken on December 25th with the song “My Old Kentucky Home” in the background, the restaurant soon attracted more customers than it could have imagined. Also, the statues of Colonel Sanders which were outside every restaurant looked very similar to Santa Claus, so it seemed natural to everybody to choose KFC for the holiday.
All in all, KFC for Christmas is very unique to Japan, but it is a tradition that seems like it will last for years to come.
